Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant calendula in West Des Moines by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

Frost tolerance for calendula:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Calendula do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in West Des Moines is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calendula and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your calendula may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your calendula indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in West Des Moines. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Des Moines is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in West Des Moines last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your calendula if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Des Moines

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in West Des Moines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Des Moines.